Just speakin from my heart Tom, don't get too excited. I've said what needed to be said, and i'm holding my end of the bargain, now it must be said, will the rest of the Christians on here, hold up their end of the bargain. The ball is multiplying and it is going into other people's courts. Don't drop the ball. I pray that htis finds you in good health and spirits. God Bless

In His Service
Joshua

Just picking up on the thread again...Sorry i havn't been more involved, but i've been busy with things around here...anyways. I thank those who have read what i've written and i pray that It will make you think. oh yea...and before i forget...luciferx, you are just supporting my point for what has happened in america. God created ADAM AND EVE, not adam and steve...dude, homosexuality is wrong in an d of itself it is an abomination. God's Word says so and plus, it's just nasty....uggh. Yet this is what America has been reduced to. In our newsletter today at church i wrote this let's see if this will get you to thinking some more:

What a wonderful, magnificent place that the Lord had made for us to live. We are given the trees, the oxygen we breathe, the water to drink, and nature as our playground, but sadly we take for granted the tings that He’s given us. Instead of giving Him the praise and the glory for having given this stuff to us, we just brush Him off to the side often. God, being the gentleman that He is, is certainly disappointed, but He will never force anything upon us. Yet He still loves us. Now, I’m not saying that it is ok to just brush the Almighty aside like a dust bunny. I’m saying that if we are to remain a mighty nation, and we are to remain a nation “Under God” then we must keep God at the forefront of our nation. This business of separation from Church and State went to far when prayer was taken out of schools and when the Bible wasn’t allowed to be read in school. Why is there a sharp decline in today’s morals. Satan has gotten his foothold in this nation and has deceived many. One such example was someone I spoke to a few weeks ago. I ask her if she believed in God and she said, “Why should I?”  Are you Concerned now? With the lack of morals and accountability it gets worse everyday. So let’s unite and pray that our nation would return to the foundation of the Bible and give God the glory for the things He has given us. Will you?

Maybe luciferx, if you would quit watching such mindless waste of television film such as the simpsons, then you may see that through the Lord Jesus Christ, the world will be a free place.

Sometimes we as Christians fall lacking in holding others accountable because we simply turn the other way, Here is the solution to this. TURN TO GOD. Trust Him...Salvation begins with Trust and repentance begins with Trust. Trust in the OT is the same as the NT word for believe. Get this and get it now luciferx, I for one look forward to the day my Lord and Savior comes back to get His children. I pray that the Lord will open up your mind such that you may see His truth.

and an LOL at butcha and blackeyepeas...i never was good at camping, but i love it...here's the cool thing, when we reach to heaven we'll be living in mansions built in Glory. Then and only then shall our camping days be over with and our eternity walking with Christ shall begin. I pray that this message finds you all in good health and high spirits. God Bless

In His Service,
Joshua

Agreeed wholeheartedly, but here's the thing i see some who get complacent in their day to day walks, that activism has no effect on them, and tom, i'd gladly carry the ball fer ya bro, that's what we're called to do, "Bear one another's burdens" in other words anything i can do to be of help i will...i got chores to finish ups, but i'm glad to see where this thread is going and i hope it continues to get attention. God Bless

In His Serivice

just curious, is it me or does benny hinn seem to contradict both his own words and Scripture? I think so, that's why I don't particularly watch him...too much 'entertaining' instead of preaching of the Word of God...just wondering.

In His Service,
Joshua

Just a few thoughts. From a teenage point of view i think that the media has a great deal to do with it, but the person behind it is satan. I think this interview with Anne Graham (Billy Graham's Daughter) would go right well for this thread. So here it is:

In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11).

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school ... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued (there's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.). And we said OK.

Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK.

Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said OK.

Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.

Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech.

Then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing?

I think that best sums up what the deal is. These are the signs of the times and America claims to be a nation under GOD but our actions speak louder than our words. I think ollie hit a good point when he wrote about sending people out instead of sending them into our own back yard, The weeds are growing and it's gonna be a bad day in heaven when Christ seperates the wheat from the tares. I honestly believe that America started heading down hill when prayer was taken out of schools and God was thrown by the wayside. As said above, Being the gentleman He is, He's sort of stepped back, and sadly so i believe that's happened. Each generation gets worser and worser as satan has gained his foothold. I see many of my friends who go get drunk every weekend, come to school high, each class i have at least 1 pregnant person next to me, then other days we have those who come in high as a jaybird. Now if that doesn't get our elder generation's attention i don't know what does, but many christians today have turned a blind eye to what's going on. I see alot of talk, but very little action to correct this problem. Just a few thoughts and my opinion on the situation. God Bless and may He guide you in your walk.

In His Service,
Joshua

Hey dude, Sorry about jumpin the gun...lol. Ur right, I do need to look around more...i had just been staying into the theology section but i hadn't checked the announcements...that's what I get for being a redneck. Gotta learn to watch more. Thanks for the reply pea dude. just what the doctor ordered. Well i'd best get back to my studies, catch ya laterz. I hope to get more involved when i have some more time on me hands...school...gotta love it. Ya'll take care and God Bless, thanks for the correction pea dude. Lord Bless ya

In Christ,
Joshua

dang dude...someone likes the Berean Bible society...lol. No prob. I don't fault you for that at all...i'm just curious as to why I don't see much of the works of some of the old church fathers on here. The great theologians like Wesley, Spurgeon, Sproul, Pink, Edwards, Winthrop, Moody...just to name a few. I can understand two minutes with the Bible but there is a world of information and great writings out there that some Christians won't even know about unless we tell them about em. I personally love reading the sermons of Spurgeon, the Illustrations of Moody, and the writings of Pink. You get a glimpse into the depth and thought that these men had and the deepness of their words. Now that's not to take the place of daily Scripture by no means, but they are good for 'sparking' your devotional life if it is weak. It sure has done mine, and i'm 16...lol. Just a few thoughts and may God bless you.

P.S. I got a friend whose pastor was John MacArthur...just about everything he posts is by ole johnny boy. let's not make the mistake of letting just one preacher and writer shape our theology..unless that is the Holy Spirit...God Bless